1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope cleaning and disinfecting unit for cleaning and disinfecting an endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditionally, endoscopes have been widely used for examination or treatment of a body cavity. An endoscope includes a variety of ducts for air supply, water supply, aspiration, etc. Its external surface and internal ducts must be cleaned and disinfected after each use.
Traditionally, various types of endoscope cleaning and disinfecting units have been used to clean and disinfect endoscopes. In principle, however, an endoscope is cleaned and disinfected in a cleaning tank through a series of processes constituted of cleaning the endoscope with cleaning water, disinfecting the cleaned endoscope with a disinfectant solution, rinsing, and drying.
During the above-mentioned disinfecting process, a pre-determined disinfectant solution is supplied to the cleaning tank from a disinfectant solution tank arranged within the unit. A pre-determined quantity of disinfectant and sterilizing solution (hereinafter simply referred to as xe2x80x9cdisinfectant solutionxe2x80x9d) is stored in the disinfectant solution tank in advance. The disinfectant solution stored in the disinfectant solution tank is produced by diluting a concentrated disinfectant solution with diluting water. Traditionally, a disinfectant solution is prepared in a specific preparation place such as a sink by the user. And the prepared disinfectant solution is injected into the disinfectant solution tank from the inlet of the disinfectant solution tank by the user.
In the traditional case in which a disinfectant solution is prepared in a specific preparation place by the user, it is not easy to prepare a predetermined concentration of the disinfectant solution.
The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems.
A first aspect of the present invention is directed to an endoscope cleaning and disinfecting unit including a cleaning tank in which an endoscope to be cleaned is placed, a disinfectant solution tank in which a disinfectant solution to be supplied is held, and a disinfectant solution duct, connecting the disinfectant solution tank to the cleaning tank, through which a disinfectant solution flows between the cleaning tank and the disinfectant solution tank. The endoscope cleaning and disinfecting unit comprises an inlet arranged on the disinfectant solution tank through which a concentrated disinfectant solution is injected into the disinfectant solution tank, diluting solution supplying means for supplying a diluting solution for diluting the concentrated solution to the disinfectant solution tank a plurality of level sensors which detect the quantity of the disinfectant solution held in the disinfectant solution tank in stages, and means for controlling the diluting solution supplying means based on the information detected by the level sensors to dilute the concentrated solution injected into the disinfectant solution tank through the inlet to a predetermined concentration.
A second aspect of the present invention is an endoscope cleaning and disinfecting unit including a cleaning tank in which an endoscope to be cleaned is placed, a disinfectant solution tank in which a disinfectant solution to be supplied is held, and a disinfectant solution duct, connecting the disinfectant solution tank to the cleaning tank, through which the disinfectant solution flows between the cleaning tank and the disinfectant solution tank, wherein the disinfectant solution tank is provided with a bottle attaching section having a bottle receiving section for watertight reception of a closed mouth section of a bottle holding a concentrated disinfectant solution; an inlet for guiding the concentrated disinfectant solution into the disinfectant solution tank; and means for communicating the inside of the bottle with the inside of the disinfectant solution tank via the inlet by opening the mouth section of the bottle which is in watertight contact with the bottle receiving section.
A third aspect of the present invention is an endoscope cleaning and disinfecting unit including a cleaning tank in which an endoscope to be cleaned is placed, a disinfectant solution tank in which a disinfectant solution to be supplied is held, and a disinfectant solution duct, connecting the disinfectant solution tank to the cleaning tank, through which a disinfectant solution flows between the cleaning tank and the disinfectant solution tank. The endoscope cleaning and disinfecting unit comprises a bottle attaching section having a bottle receiving section which receives a closed mouth section of a bottle holding a concentrated disinfectant solution in a watertight and airtight manner, an inlet for guiding the concentrated disinfectant solution into the disinfectant solution tank, and means that allow the inside of the bottle to communicate with the inside of the disinfectant solution tank via the inlet by opening the mouth section of the bottle which is in watertight contact with bottle receiving section, diluting solution supplying means for supplying a diluting solution for diluting the concentrated solution to the disinfectant solution tank, a plurality of level sensors which detect the quantity of the disinfectant solution held in the disinfectant solution tank in stages, and means for controlling the diluting solution supplying means based on the information detected by the level sensors to dilute the concentrated solution injected into the disinfectant solution tank through the inlet to a predetermined concentration.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is an endoscope cleaning and disinfecting unit including a cleaning tank in which an endoscope to be cleaned is placed, a disinfectant solution tank in which a disinfectant solution to be supplied is held, and a disinfectant solution duct, connecting the disinfectant solution tank to the cleaning tank, through which a disinfectant solution flows between the cleaning tank and the disinfectant solution tank. The endoscope cleaning and disinfecting unit comprises a bottle attaching section having a bottle receiving section which receives a closed mouth section of a bottle holding a concentrated disinfectant solution in a watertight and airtight manner; an inlet for guiding the concentrated disinfectant solution into the disinfectant solution tank; and means that allow the inside of the bottle to communicate with the inside of the disinfectant solution tank via the inlet by opening the mouth section of the bottle which is in watertight contact with the bottle receiving section, diluting solution supplying means for supplying a diluting solution for diluting the concentrated solution to the disinfectant solution tank, a bottle detecting means for detecting the bottle being connected to the bottle attaching section, means for controlling the diluting solution supplying means based on the information detected by the bottle detecting means to dilute the concentrated solution injected into the disinfectant solution tank through the inlet to a predetermined concentration.